Tried AA Wheel Protectant and....

[BlackjackMulligan]

Originally Posted by radorotrex

I have used it 3 times this summer so far and it's great. However, I end up using more than half the bottle on my 261 m rims. The problem with these rims are the split spoke areas that I need to make sure I get a good coverage on. At almost 10 bucks a bottle it gets a little expensive but still worth it given the results.

I have gotten 2 applications on my Mercedes wheels (more intricate design) and 2 on my 135i Sport (not M-Sport) wheels. It has worked out great for me. In addition, when I washed the car this past weekend, and sprayed down the wheels, they were still deflecting the water and the slight brake dust that did stick washed right off with the hose spray. This is after about 4 weeks of being on there.

I probably could've just left them to air dry but I wanted to give them a good cleaning so I cleaned them up with soap and water and reapplied the protectant.

[tcd223]

I applied the stuff a week ago, drove through a lot of rain two days after the application, and I must say I'm impressed. There is some dust but not nearly as much as usual for a week. So the stuff works. It will become part of my regular washing routine to reapply.

[N55_BBM]

I applied this like 3-4 weeks ago and hadn't been able to get my car washed (except for a quick rinse at a car wash) ever since. It does do an excellent job keeping the rims clean. at the end of the 4 weeks they looked almost as clean as they are right now (I got my car detailed yesterday and haven't applied it, driven about 30-40 miles ever since.

HOWEVER...

I took this to the detailer to ask him to apply it and he almost punched me in the face. He said that I should never ever apply that to my wheels because it's a silicone based product and it eats the factoring coating away. I had some black spots on my wheel that I though was brake dust from regions I missed when applying the spray, but he explained that it was actually the silicone reacting with my tire wax, some shit like that.. anyway, he said that the only way to keep the rims clean without damaging them is to constantly wipe them down (which is a pain in the ass of course). or you can always powder coat it and that supposedly solves a great deal of the problem.

anyway, i'm having second thoughts as to whether to apply this again or not....

[Itanius]

Originally Posted by brunobm

I applied this like 3-4 weeks ago and hadn't been able to get my car washed (except for a quick rinse at a car wash) ever since. It does do an excellent job keeping the rims clean. at the end of the 4 weeks they looked almost as clean as they are right now (I got my car detailed yesterday and haven't applied it, driven about 30-40 miles ever since.

HOWEVER...

I took this to the detailer to ask him to apply it and he almost punched me in the face. He said that I should never ever apply that to my wheels because it's a silicone based product and it eats the factoring coating away. I had some black spots on my wheel that I though was brake dust from regions I missed when applying the spray, but he explained that it was actually the silicone reacting with my tire wax, some shit like that.. anyway, he said that the only way to keep the rims clean without damaging them is to constantly wipe them down (which is a pain in the ass of course). or you can always powder coat it and that supposedly solves a great deal of the problem.

anyway, i'm having second thoughts as to whether to apply this again or not....

Silicone deteriorates the clear coat, eh? Hmm... Need more data.

[BlackjackMulligan]

I guess I would need more information before believing this. I haven't seen any issues although I've only been using it for 2 months. How long does it take before the silicone deteioration begins to show?

Also I find it hard to believe that a company would develop a product that would harm factory wheels....won't they have many claims against them if they harm the wheels?

I think that some people are set in their ways about things (which is fine) and tend to state opinions as fact. Then again I could be totally off base and I could walk out to my car after work and see 4 dust piles where my wheels used to be lol...

[james33]

Hmmmm... Being using it for months with no issues on all 4 of my cars. Maybe he just doesn't like Armor All products either...

[N55_BBM]

Yeah well I'm kind of skeptical too since it worked so well on my wheels.. but then again the guy has been doing this stuff for his entire life and I only tried it for a month, so something tells me he probably knows more

[james33]

I would think that AA would know a bit more about how their products interact with wheel coatings and finishes than your detailer, since that's what they made it for. AA would be faced with huge lawsuits if their product damaged 90% of the wheels it was used on.

[Red Bread]

Historically, Armor All has not been a product that you'd want to use on your car. The silicone is actually quite hard on interior plastics, and tends to not offer any actual protection to plastics, just shiny finishes. However, there's so much wrong with what your service guy told you, for example, those black spots on your wheels are embedded pieces of brake pad lining, not some sort of evil AA spot, and powdercoating doesn't do a thing to change brake dust, stock M wheels are powdered, and they show just as much brake dust, so I'd ignore anything else he told you, no matter how long he's been doing it.

My take is that this product is not the same thing as Armor All Protectant, and silicone isn't going to effect paint, much less aluminum. If you want to CYA, just apply a coat of a good synthetic sealant prior to using the AA wheel stuff.

[mosx]

Love this stuff too but I'm gonna go broke at $10 for that little can. Maybe I'm to liberal with it but I really only got 3 coatings * 4 wheels out of 1 can. Where's the Costco mega can?

[BlackjackMulligan]

Originally Posted by mosx

Love this stuff too but I'm gonna go broke at $10 for that little can. Maybe I'm to liberal with it but I really only got 3 coatings * 4 wheels out of 1 can. Where's the Costco mega can?

I think I've paid about $7 per can and I've gotten about 4 coatings out of one can. So maybe I'm applying a bit less but you do need to be pretty thorough for it to work right.

If it's lasting an average of 2 weeks X 3 coatings you're getting 6-8 weeks out of a can that means $42 bucks per year. One 17oz bottle of P21s costs almost half that ($17 + tax + shipping). So it's not that expensive in the grand scheme of things. More importantly, the stuff actually works so to me it's worth it.

[jmcgraw013]

FYI - I picked up two more cans tonight on sale at Target for $5.97 each. This stuff works wonders keeping your wheels clean! Highly recommended!

[BuckarooVT90]

just picked me up a can from wallyworld... my wheels look horrid!! Can't wait to clean the filth off my wheels and keep it off with this stuff. Do you think this would work in DC on some of our politicians?

[mynew135]

Target has it on sale again for 5.97 until mid october. Love that this stuff is now available in the US.